Schloss Pillnitz

Today's cultural education took the form of a trip on the tram, bus, and ferry to Schloss Pillnitz the 18th Century home of Friedrich August (The Strong).The palace buildings were extensive with one building bordering the Elbe, one bordering the Hill, and the remainder forming three sides of the quadrant garden.
The gardens were theme based: one French style, one English style with a large pavilion for retiring to for tea (and maybe a bit of crumpet) when Friedrich August got the urge!

The opulence of the lifestyle for the rich and famous in the 18th century was evident on the whole property. Manicured gardens were reached by riding down a long tree-lined driveway, and the accommodation provided for the courtiers and various other hangers-on was massive. The architecture and gardens were heavily influenced by Asia: there is even an orangerie and a 200-year old camelia tree for which a wooden house was erected annually to protect it from the German winters! (Nowadays it is protected by a large mobile greenhouse which the gardeners slide away in the summer). The central quadrant houses a large fountain and ornamental garden, both of which provide an impressive introduction to anyone's arrival at the Schloss.

We took a long walk to the bus stop that took us to a suspension bridge over the Elbe where the view was most impressive.

Today we were all given an insight into how the rich and famous lived during the 18th century in Saxony, Germany, leaving us all well aware of the opulence of life on the right side of the social divide.